Pendergast jumps to Cal

Clancy Pendergast, who was fired as defensive coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs in the past two years, will leave the Raiders after less than a month and to be defensive coordinator under Jeff Tedford at Cal, beat writer Steve Corkran confirms.

Pendergast was hired by the Raiders Feb. 8 as a defensive assistant. Although the club never specified Pendergast’s responsibility, he was coaching defensive backs along with Lionel Washington.

The situation is the reverse of one which occurred last year when Jim Michalczik, hired by Steve Sarkisian coach the offensive line at the University of Washington, instead left the Huskies to take over as line coach with the Raiders under Tom Cable.

Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Post navigation

Yes, Bob… snort the pills. Until the mid 20th century, when pharmaceutical companies decided that they could make more profit by controlling the dosage of medication in pill form, medicines were predominantly taken by either snorting a powder or by placing the aforementioned powder under the tongue to dissolve. These means of medicating allow the medicine to enter your system almost immediately, rather than having to be broken down in the stomach and take about half an hour or more (depending on pill concentration or coating) to be absorbed into the bloodstream. If you want to feel those norcos IMMEDIATELY, you gotta crush ’em and snort ’em, my friend.

jhill

Believe me RRS,

I know that until you see 30 TDs, 4000 yds, and no picks from Russell ON THE FIELD, there will be no praise for Russell coming from you, lol.

jhill

LOL!

CMON BOB!

I thought you knew how to get high man!

SteveAlford21

Sorry for the delay there, Jhill. You’re talking about the blowout where DMAC fumbled at the 5, right?

SteveAlford21

If I recall correctly, the first pick was behind DHB just a bit and way too high.

SteveAlford21

Wait, no… that was the second one… the one that really pissed off the crowd. Remind me of the first one please? It’s 12:37 now and I still haven’t slept yet. 😀

Norco Bob

Used to snort alot of blow, then progressed to the glass pipe,..so guess can try crushin some Norcos,..thanks for the tip.

SteveAlford21

Wait… I remember. The other was when DHB fell down. But if I recall correctly, there were TWO defenders draped all over him. How can you defend JR for throwing that pass in the first place? Seriously, even if DHB hadn’t fallen, that was a pick. He had a corner on his hip and a safety coming up directly toward his face.

jhill

Nah Steve …

Game 3 against Denver, the first pick DHB fell down.

The second pick, DHB was bumped coming out of his route and their should have been a flag.

I’m sure you can look that up on NFL.com.

What about the pick in the 2nd SD game where Miller was held coming out of his route, and Murphy ran the wrong pattern bringing his guy into the play?

See that’s 5 answers to your question of whether I thought all of Russell’s picks were because the WRs were in the wrong spots. 5 of 11 picks.

SteveAlford21

Any time, Bob. The acetaminophen shouldn’t might bother you a bit if you’ve never snorted one before… that aspirin makes for more powder than I prefer… that’s why I like Perc 15s and 30s… but you should be fine. Norcos don’t have too much. It’s not like you’re going for a Lortab 5… now THOSE are hell: way too much powder to snort for only five milligrams of hydrocodone!

jhill

Why do you always go to the defending Russell card?

That’s like me saying you’re excusing the terrible line play because of Russell.

As for that play, all I can say is Michael Irvin KILLED DHB for his effort on those 2 plays on NFL Network post game show. I, for one, would have NEVER called that play from our own end zone.

The second INT was after a nice run for a first down! Why did Cable call a deep pass play in the first place on 1st dn after a nice run?

SteveAlford21

I’ll have to look at all of those again, but I know for sure that the one where DHB fell down was into heavily blanketed double coverage. No matter what the receiver does, even if he CATCHES IT, that’s still not a pass that you can say should have been thrown. If the reason for the second pick was that DHB was bumped off his route, then how can you justify throwing to a man who is covered so tightly that he’s getting bumped after 5+yards and also has safety coverage over the top?

Even if, hypthetically, the throws were where JR intended and a receiver should have been there, they were thrown into double coverage with a defender at the exact spot where the ball came down. That’s just horrible reading of a defense. Those passes never should have been intercepted because they never should have been throwin in the first place.

jhill

My point is with a better Oline, better WRs, and a better play caller, I think Russell will look better than he did last year with a terrible Oline, bad WRs, and a bad playcaller.

Will those improvements make him Peyton Manning or anything close? Not at all.

SteveAlford21

I will never excuse DHB for anything. I hated the pick. The kid has stonehands and was a complete waste when our needs were clearly on the lines. Also, I don’t mean to defend the line, but even if there was extreme defensive pressure in JR’s face, I’m still left with this question in that regard: Did the linemen throw a ball into double coverage instead of to a checkdown or throwing the ball away? The line is COMPLETELY accountable for the pressure that got to JR, but not for what he did with the ball when faced with the pressure.

jhill

DHB was not blanketed, Steve. If DHB doesn’t fall down, he has a chance to make a play on the ball. Now the odds are he drops it or it clanks off his hands, but that’s another story.

Now why Russell is throwing passes to DHB in the first place is a question we were all wondering. But Chaz was hurt, and we only had DHB, Murphy, and Watkins healthy for that game.

You wouldn think that Cable would haev busted out the jumbo package and heavy 2 TEs instead of 4 verticals.

DMAC

Morning Nation.
Don’t get to say this much……….
Great win last night DUBS!!!
Stef Curry for ROY!

SteveAlford21

As far as the playcalling, I know that if I worked for Al Davis, I’d attempt to slip in a seam pass at every opportunity. That’s a great piece of job security right there. Al would rather lose with his gameplan than win the Superbowl with Gruden’s dinking and dunking. (I was furious when Al traded Gruden)

RaiderRockstar

My point is with a better Oline, better WRs, and a better play caller, I think Russell will look better than he did last year with a terrible Oline, bad WRs, and a bad playcaller.

Jhill, we should’ve been in double-tight for EVERY game last season. Especially annoying to me, however was that when Schilens went down, we should’ve considered doing something with Javon… you know, put him on the active roster so at least one guy who knows how to catch a pass can get into a game. He may have been incredibly overpaid, but if he had made one catch, he would’ve out-earned all the other non-Murphy/non-Schilens WRs on the team.

LA to TheBay

Nation

Re: Russell

RRS will tell you I was one of the last Russell supporters.

And as bad as his play was on the field, he didn’t lose me there.

He lost me in the press conferences. His attitude and off the field decisions have completely destroyed his credibility.

If Russell throws for anything more than 15 TDs and has less than 15 turnovers, he will be Comeback Player of the Millenium.

jhill

so will Bruce, Charlie & JP …

——————————————————-

Who?

jhill

Agreed on 672 Steve 100%!

SteveAlford21

And Jhill, the heart of my point about JR was just made by RRS. All the things that you say need to be improved that will make JR so much better… will also make Gradkowski and Losman better. I haven’t seen enough of Losman lately to say he’s better than JR (though it’s hard to imagine that he’s not), but I have far more faith in Bruce than in JaMarcus. I wish I could think of specific examples, but I remember seeing dozens of passes from JR that were nowhere near anyone. Even if fully half of those were due to receivers running the wrong route, that leaves the other half being bad throws or JR thinking it was going to be a different route.

I’m straining at this moment to remember any passes from Bruce that landed ten yards from the nearest receiver and I can’t. Bruce threw plenty of passes to the rookies and always seemed to be on the same page with them. Did Murphy and DHB know the playbook better when #5 threw it or is the fact that they were “ignorant rookies” just a convenient excuse for JR being inaccurate? When Bruce threw toward DHB, it was almost always a dropped pass; when JR threw DHB’s way, he almost never even got a chance to drop it.

If we get a better Offensive Line, better WRs, and better playcalling, I’d still rather have Bruce or JP under center than JaMarcus.

jhill

Where’s my man SnB …

I remember posting a youtube clip last offseason that started a good day’s discussion.

I know the topic was Russell, but that video illustrates Morrisons shortcomings more than anyone else!

We need a MLB in the worst way. Morrison’s errors end up literally turning into points.

jhill

Look Steve …

Russell is on the roster, and Bruce isn’t. If Bruce Gradkowski were as important as you and some other tend to make out, then why haven’t we resigned him?

Al allowed Russell to be benched last year. For whatever reason. If Grads or Frye were really impressing anyone, they would’ve already been resigned. Not throwing out the hope they call me lines.

Any QB will be better with an improved Oline, WR, and play caller. The point is RUSSELL, the only guy on the roster, and the guy we are talking about, can be better than he was last year. We all seem to think Russell will be starting next year, so I’m focusing on what it will take to make him better. If I thought for one second that Grads would be starting next year, I’d be talking about what would make him better.

Because I am a realist about Russell, doesn’t make me a fan of his. The owner loves him, not me.

SteveAlford21

I don’t know if you were here yet this morning when I covered my thoughts on that.

Quick synopsis: First, we have to upgrade our DT situation. When Centers and Guards get the RB to the second level EVERY TIME they run the ball, the MLB is already at a disadvantage. Second, we do our damnedest to get Dansby or another EXPERIENCED MLB. We can’t be plugging rookies in and expecting immediate performance at NFL-quality levels. After acquiring an experienced MLB, we move Morrison to Strong Side LB, where his athleticism will come to use and he won’t have to worry about reading as much and covering as much ground. We let Trevor Scott spend the offseason, camp, and preseason honing his skills at Weak Side LB. I know that many think he’s only good as a WLB in obvious passing downs, but keep in mind that he’s VERY new to this position. The kid is a true gamer. I believe that given some time, he’ll be top-tier at that spot, even against the run. Lastly, we keep Howard in as a backup to rotate in when others need a breather. All the talk of McClain and Spikes sounds great, but I don’t think they can break into an NFL 4-3 defense as MLB’s and perform well as rookies. We need a vet.

Let’s look at that Denver game again. point out to me on those big runs how the DT is the problem?

I think the tape shows bad LB play.

jhill

LOL RRS!

Stop stealing my material.

SteveAlford21

I believe that we haven’t re-signed Gradkowski yet because Al wants to try to get him at the cheapest rate possible. I think he’ll let #5 test the free agent market for offers to see what his market value is before making a deal. Al knows that Bruce wants to be a Raider. We’ve all seen and heard the interviews. Bruce is adamant about wanting to help lead a turnaround for this organization.

It could all have just been a brilliant ploy to try to get re-signed and make some money, but I don’t think so. I genuinely believe that Bruce was sincere. I think that Al knows he can get Bruce, but doesn’t want to overpay (shocking for Al, I know… but he’s already done way too much overpaying), so he’ll wait and let it play out. He knows that Bruce won’t sign a contract with anyone without coming to Al and asking him to match it or do better. I could be wrong, but that’s why I think Bruce hasn’t been re-signed yet. Either that or Al forgot that the league has Free Agency now.

jhill

who?

——————————————————-

the only guy on the roster

RaiderRockstar

If Bruce Gradkowski were as important as you and some other tend to make out, then why haven’t we resigned him?

***

Vincent Jackson, Miles Austin & Brandon Marshall are all restricted free agents too. Does that mean they aren’t important, because they haven’t been re-signed yet Jhill?

DMAC

Hey Steve,
Would you rather sign Capt. Kirk, than Howard?

SteveAlford21

Jhill, take note: I never said Morrison was a good MLB. In fact, I said he needs to be moved. He’s got all the tools to be a great Sam, but he sucks as a Mike. He might be passable if we had decent DT play, but he’ll still never be better than “okay” as a Mike. My point was that Morrison DOES need to be gone from that position, just not taken off the roster entirely. One of the other points was that we need a veteran MLB, not McClain or Spikes. I just don’t think they will be dominant MLBs in our 4-3… especially behind Warren and Kelly.

If we can move Kirk to SLB, I’d rather release Howard than Kirk. If the option for Kirk is ONLY MLB, then dump Morrison in a heartbeat.

jhill

Again, If Bruce is as important to the Raiders as you make him out to be, why would Al take the chance of letting him walk? WE’re talking starting QB who will take LAST YEAR’S team to the playoffs. He didn’t let Seabass, Lechler, Nnamdi or any of those guys go. There’s already talk of Seymour being tagged. Yet not one peep about Gradkowski?

Maybe his 54% completion wasn’t that impressive to brass.

RaiderRockstar

our run defense was terrible for 3 years (2003-2005) BEFORE Kirk Morrison inherited the MLB job …

thats what happens when you go 7+ years without a real NT

DMAC

I believe Urlacher still has something left in the tank and could really uprade the MLB and be the QB on D. Trade for a possible 3rd or 4th rounder????

jhill

Are those guys starting QBs RRS?

Give me an example of a QB who can take a given team to the playoffs, without question according to the coach, who isn’t under contract for that team?

Like my man B say, I’ll wait!

RaiderRockstar

There’s already talk of Seymour being tagged. Yet not one peep about Gradkowski?

Oh, wait… Wow, I really need some sleep… I completely forgot the different rules for RFAs and tenure in this uncapped season. Jhill, the reason that we haven’t re-signed Gradkowski is because we can just slap a tender on him and see what the OTHER teams think he is worth. We can match the offer or go ahead and take the other team’s draft picks. However, by placing a high enough pick requirement on the tender, we guarantee that he stay in Oakland.

How? Simple… Bruce hasn’t been in the league long enough to walk away to another team on his own. We have to LET him leave by accepting a team’s offer for him. Until the Raiders agree to getting another team’s draft picks for the right to Bruce, he IS on the roster… he just hasn’t signed a new deal yet. Is it a stupid way to do business? Yes. Is it how all of the NFL teams are doing it? Yes.

Midwest Fan

I echo your sentiments on JR as well Jhill.

lefty12

Gradkowski is a restricted FA.the Raiders can keep him just by matching any offer he gets.No need to rush to sign him,he isn’t going anywhere unless some team totally overpays him and then we get compensation.

jhill

Thomas Howard or Morrison …

Hmmmm ….

At OLB, specifically WLB, or not over the TE, I go with Howard and his speed.

Scott is playing SLB these days when he’s at LB.

With that in mind, I’d replace Morrison.

RaiderRockstar

Matt Moore, Jason Campbell & Kyle Orton are RFA’s that could probably lead a team to the playoffs.

this is a weak class for free agent QB’s though Jhill. I think thats why you’re trying to lead your general comment to now be specific toward QB’s. funny how you do that so often

you know it’s slim pickings when Pennington & Culpepper are the top UFA QB’s!

jhill

LOL.

So we are going to lowball Gradkowski with a league minimum deal (do you really expect any offers from other teams), and he’s going to be our starter next year?

LMFAO!

So he starts next year and takes us to the playoffs. Does he hold out for more coin?

Cmon guys. If Gradkowski was a QB capable of ending this teams playoff drought, I doubt we play the games your suggesting. If we are playing those games, Gradkowski can’t be viewed as anything more than a backup.

SteveAlford21

Jhill, I disagree on the LBs. You have to have Scott on the weakside to let him have better passrush opportunities in obvious passing downs and put either Morrison or Howard on the strongside where they have safety help. I know that Scott is new to LB, but I trust him on an island more than Morrison and Howard already. The kid has better football instincts than both of them combined.